The Games of Times Past
by Lunarelle
Summary: An unprecedented way of choosing tributes. A brand-new, and very special arena. These are the twenty-fifth annual Hunger Games, the first Quarter Quell, where the lives of twenty-four children hang in the balance. Rated M for future content. Drama/Tragedy/Suspense/Horror. **ON HOLD**.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: The world of Panem belongs entirely to Suzanne Collins. I am merely a visiting tribute here.**

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Theirs was the biggest fishing community in the district. They were located right on the ocean, where fishing shacks fought for space on the sandy beach. On any given day, no less than thirty fishing boats were seen on the harbor, most of them rustic and unpainted because nobody could be bothered – they weren't trying to win any beauty contests, they were working.

But there were a few families who were rich enough to afford nice boats. The Wells family was one of them. They lived in the old lighthouse, which Mrs. Wells and her daughter operated. Mr. Wells went out on his boat every other day. He had better equipment than most fishermen, and so managed to catch more sea goods than anybody.

Of course, the Wells were generous. Every week, they invited one of the lesser families to eat with them, rotating all the time so that everyone in the community could benefit from their food. They also took on apprentices, which aided everyone. They couldn't pay them much, that was true, but it was said that having an apprenticeship with Mr. or Mrs. Wells was better than anything a young person could ask for.

But people were jealous, as is the norm in every community. The Wells were hardworking and generous people, but not everybody saw this. All they saw was a family who had been lucky enough to have the lighthouse and that they didn't struggle every day.

Sirena, their sixteen-year-old daughter, was also a problem. She was a pretty and vivacious thing who could outswim the boys in the community more often than not. She had long straight dark hair, sea blue eyes, pouty lips, and creamy skin. She'd learned how to fish at the age of four, when she had caught her first fish, an eel, with her father's help.

"Why should she always be the best at everything?" cried Jarvis Grouper, who served on the unofficial village council. "My son is just as good as she is, and her father has refused to take him on as an apprentice!"

"He's already got two apprentices, though," said Victor Roe, the mayor of District Four. "You can't expect him to take on more of them right now."

"Vic, you're too soft on that guy. He doesn't make quota!"

"Of course he makes quota. He brings in fish, same as you, and the fact that his wife and daughter operate the lighthouse allows you all to go fishing in a storm, or have you forgotten the time that the light saved your life?"

Jarvis said nothing for a while, merely throwing his hat down on the table. "I'm telling you, if you don't do something about it, I will."

"And what exactly are you going to do? I don't want to have to call the Peacekeepers on you, man, so don't make me."

"You wouldn't."

"I would. You don't like your situation, and I'm sorry about that, but everyone's doing the best they can. The Wells can't give any more away right now, and you know that."

"But they haven't made their kid take out and tesserae, have they?"

The mayor sighed and looked around at the other members of the 'council': Jeremiah Shoal, whose three sons were taking out tesserae to help their father, Ronald Hooker, who was raising two children by himself, Roy Bass, who was a little wealthier than others, but had made friends with the right people, Irene Coley, who made and sold nets, and Carrick Irvine, who had a huge family living on the outskirts of the community.

"That doesn't make them bad people, you know. My children don't take out tesserae either. Are you suggesting I force them to do this?"

"No, of course not."

The mayor knew what was bothering his friend. The Capitol was on the verge of announcing something about the upcoming 25th Hunger Games, which had everyone on edge.

"I know you're not friends with Wells, but you can't blame him for your misfortune," he said finally. "Now, if it's an apprenticeship you want for your son, I can find him a good spot in the Justice Building, and you won't need to worry about him. But don't any of you go telling anybody that I've done this favor, or everyone will clamor for the same thing."

Jarvis looked at Mayor Roe and picked up his hat, "Much obliged, friend," he said quietly.

"Why don't you all go spend time with your families before tonight's announcement? I have a feeling you're all going to need it."

Everyone nodded and got up, shaking hands and leaving. Mayor Roe watched them from his window, not exactly knowing what to think. They were a good bunch of people, for the most part. But the tension of the upcoming Hunger Games was weighing on them.

Down by the shore, a girl was just coming out of the water, with a bag in her hand. It was still a little chilly to go into the ocean, but she'd worn a wetsuit, and hadn't been particularly cold.

Sirena shook water out of her hair as she pulled off her snorkeling mask, which she'd worn to go into the water.

Her bag was wriggling. Looking down, she smiled. She'd caught over two dozen shrimp since she'd gone out, and them would make a good meal for her and her parents, if she were allowed to keep them.

Her father was just returning from work, hauling great nets full of fish with the two boys he'd taken on as apprentices, Jed and Buddy.

"Hi, Dad!" she called to him.

"Honey, what… have you been swimming? Do you want to catch your death of a cold?"

"It's not that bad out there. Besides, I used Mom's old wetsuit, see? I was fine." She held up her bag as her father found a towel to put around her. "Here."

"Thank you, princess," he said, kissing the top of her head and looking in the bag. He whistled, "Well, look at you! There are better ways of catching shrimp, but, this isn't bad at all!" He laughed in his baritone voice and put an arm around her. "We can sell 'em or eat 'em, what do you say?"

"Eat!" Sirena grinned. "Would you guys like to have dinner with us tonight?" she asked Jed and Buddy.

"That'd be great, yeah. Is that okay, Mr. Wells?" said Buddy.

"Sure! Why don't you and Jed go tell your families and come back here in an hour? And take a bath so that you don't offend the missus when you come in."

Jed and Buddy laughed, "Look who's talking, boss, look who's talking!"

Sirena grinned as her father put an arm around her and brought her back to the lighthouse.

It was a tall and imposing structure, its dark stone worn smooth by the constant roaring waves that periodically crashed upon it. It had stood there for many generations before the Dark Days of Panem, having replaced the ancient lighthouse that had crumbled once during a storm.

Sirena loved the lighthouse. She loved the power of its light that brought sailors home after a long voyage at sea, and the salty smell of the air around it. She was at home in the wind and the spray of the waves, as much as she was in the water.

Mr. Wells gently pulled on one of her locks, "Every time you come home, you get that same look on your face."

"What look?"

"The one that says that you're happy to be home."

"Well, I am."

"Why don't you go give that shrimp to your mother so that she can make us something delicious with it, and go take a bath as well."

She nodded, bouncing up the stairs until she reached the round kitchen on the second floor. It was by far the biggest room in the house, and had been painted white, with a red trim for color. A long wooden table, also painted red, stood in the center of the room, with six red wooden chairs around it. Her mother was working at the stove, chopping up some potatoes for dinner.

She turned around when she heard Sirena coming in, smiling, "Did you have a good time in the water, sweetheart?"

"I always do!" she replied, going over to her and kissing her, "Here, I caught dinner."

"Oh, honey, thank you. That's a lot of shrimp!"

"Jed and Buddy are having dinner with us."

"I should have known! All right, I'll make us some shrimp and potato stew. It'll be delicious! Now, go wash up. I have a tub of hot water ready for you in the bathroom."

It took Sirena only ten minutes to take her bath, and she made sure to refill the tub with hot water for her father so that he could wash as well. Once she was clean, she went to her room, putting on her home clothes, dark red overalls with a clean black shirt.

Whatever people thought about her family, they weren't really rich. She didn't have to take out any tesserae, but that didn't mean that they could afford to buy the fanciest clothes in town. The overalls she had on were a little short for her because she had sprouted half an inch recently. And several areas had been so frayed that she had used some old red washcloths to patch them up from the inside.

But overall, she knew she was lucky. Some people in the district had to scrimp and save just to put food on the table once a day.

Jed and Buddy arrived just as she was setting the table. Both of them hugged her as though they hadn't seen her in a month, making her laugh.

"So, what do you think young President Snow has to announce about the Hunger Games tonight?" asked Buddy, helping her father bring a bottle of fresh water to the table.

It was only President Snow's second year in office. He was twenty-six years old, and more than once, Sirena had heard people wondering how he had come into power so quickly. But it was already obvious that he adored the Hunger Games.

Sirena shuddered.

"Who knows?" said her mother. "But it's the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Games, so it's probably going to be something big."

"I don't doubt it," whispered Jed. One of the boys living on his street had died in the Hunger Games just the previous year. It had shaken everybody up. "Whatever the Gamemakers have in store for everyone this time around, I hope it's not as bad as it was last year."

Nobody said anything for a while, doubtlessly going over the nightmare that had been the previous Hunger Games.

The arena had been dark, with very little natural light. The Careers had had flashlights, but that had attracted all sorts of creatures of unspeakable origin, all giant fangs and milky white eyes that had devoured them.

"I think that the Gamemakers have learned now that they need to make the Games more interesting. At least for the Capitol."

"It would just be best if they abolished the Games altogether," said Mrs. Wells, putting down the shrimp and potato stew and beginning to ladle it onto everyone's plates.

"They won't do that, ma'am. People enjoy them too much now."

"I never thought I would live in a world where people enjoyed watching children murder each other for entertainment."

They were just beginning to eat when the television in the kitchen flared to life for the program. President Snow, young, and ruggedly good-looking, stood in front of the cameras in an impeccable blue suit and tie. His blond hair gleamed in the light. In his hand, he held an envelope marked with the number 25.

"Welcome, citizens of Panem," he said, his voice reverberating throughout every household in the country. "Welcome to the announcement for the Twenty-Fifth annual Hunger Games!"

The sound of cheering came through the television's speakers, most likely coming from the people who were watching President Snow in the flesh.

"This is a very special year. A year where we celebrate the first Quarter Quell, which will be celebrated every twenty-five years, with very special arenas, and, most importantly, with new ways of choosing the tributes!"

There were more cheers. Sirena looked at her mother, who had gone very still.

President Snow opened he envelope slowly, making a show of it. Finally, he took out the sheet of heavy yellowed paper from within, and began to read.

"As a reminder that the rebels of the Dark Days chose to sacrifice their children for the rebellion, this year, the twenty-four tributes will be chosen by their own district, rather than being reaped. The same age restrictions will apply. The tributes will have to be between twelve and eighteen years old."

" _What_?"

"Oh my God… they can't do this, can they?"

Sirena looked at her stew, suddenly not hungry anymore. The districts were going to choose their own tributes to send to the Hunger Games. They would choose who to send to their deaths.

President Snow was still speaking, "Each district is to select a group of people who will be responsible for choosing their tributes. Once a consensus has been reached, the name will be provided to the Peacekeepers on the day of the reaping, after which it will be revealed by the district representative. The Peacekeepers will enforce strict discipline during the two months before the reaping, make no mistake about it. As for the choice of the Selectors, as we shall call them, that will all be up to the mayor of each district." He looked at the camera, and Sirena felt as though he were dissecting her, "Happy Hunger Games! And may the odds be ever in your favor."

Happy Hunger Games…

"Who do you think they're going to pick?"

"The strongest people would make sense," said Jed. "Nobody who's under eighteen will be chosen, you'll see."

"This will all depend on who the Selectors are. If it's the council, I don't know what they'll decide." Mr. Wells sounded sick. He knew only too well that many people on the council didn't like him because of his position.

All around District Four, people were in a state of panic, wondering who the Selectors would be. Mayor Roe was already talking to his wife about who they should be, and about potential tributes. He hated to have to do anything like this, it made him sick. But at least he knew that his children would be safe that year. As they were only thirteen, they would never be chosen. But who could it be? He didn't know, and had no idea how to choose a tribute to go to his or her death, for only one of them would come back, if they were lucky.


	2. Chapter 2

The Hunger Games were all anybody could talk about during the last days of school. No one could focus on anything, worrying about what the Selectors were talking about every day.

All of them had noticed that people were watching them very closely. The school principal was one of the Selectors, and he took his job very seriously indeed.

"How can he call himself a school principal if he's just standing there searching for two of us to send into the arena?" asked Ren Terga, Sirena's best friend. "What if they didn't do anything? What would the Capitol do then?"

"Ren, please, shut up."

Ren pulled an elastic band out of her hair before tying wrapping it again so that her hair now hung in a loose ponytail. It was a nervous habit of hers every time she saw Peacekeepers around. "I mean it, though!"

"I know you mean it, but it doesn't matter. They're already choosing."

She was right. One day, the principal called an assembly of anybody in the school who was between sixteen and eighteen years of age. With a camera in hand, he asked the students to stand in a straight line, taking pictures of the ones with potential. Sirena felt vaguely fearful of the fact that he looked at her for a long time.

There was only one week left of school.

"I'm sure that nobody was able to pass final exams after that kind of inspection," she told her parents that same evening. "I felt like I was on display at a market."

"Did he take your picture?"

She nodded. He hadn't taken Ren's picture, which had been a minor relief. She didn't know what she would do if she were to see her best friend go to the Hunger Games.

School let out the day before the reaping. Nobody said anything when the final bell rang, but Sirena noticed that everyone's eyes were darting around to some of the taller kids. Would any of them be picked?

Of course, they lived in a large district. There were children in other schools that the selectors were probably looking at. Anybody could be chosen to go to the first Quarter Quell.

When she got home, she found that her mother was ironing her best dress with a tense look on her face.

"What's wrong, Mom?" she asked. "Are you okay?"

"Oh, I'm fine, sweetheart. Just fine."

"You… you don't think that they're going to pick me to go, do you? Just because some of the people on the selection committee don't like Daddy?"

"Of course not, honey. Don't worry about the reaping tomorrow. Everything's going to be all right."

Sirena didn't know what to think about that. She wasn't really hungry at dinner, but did her best to eat the grilled fish on her plate. She didn't go to bed for a long time.

"Why didn't they tell the families beforehand?" she wondered.

"I suspect that it's because they don't want the families to smuggle their child out of the district before the reaping. It would be only too easy to do it for us, what with the boats and all."

"But the Peacekeepers have more powerful boats than we do. They'd catch up to anybody trying to leave."

"It's the same reason why the reaping isn't done ahead of time. They could do it by computer, you know, draw the names right away and announce them before the reaping so that the kids in question would have some time to train."

Sirena looked at her father, "I thought that was forbidden?"

"It is, but some kids are too good. Take districts One and Two, for example."

She nodded. Out of the twenty-four previous Hunger Games, tributes from District One and District Two had won four times. District Twelve, the poorest district, had had only one victor, but districts ten and eleven, the other fringe districts, hadn't won any Hunger Games yet.

As for her district, there had been one victor before, a man named Bay, who had won the sixth Hunger Games.

"What did they call the tributes from District Two last year? Career tributes?" asked her mother.

Mr. Wells nodded, "I think that they also included district one in there."

"Career tributes…" repeated Sirena. "You make it sound like they do that for a living."

"Well, the way they've been winning it, it almost looks like they do. We'll see what their tributes are like this year." He kissed her forehead, "Why don't you go to bed, sweet pea? We have an early start tomorrow for the reaping."

They did. At seven o'clock, Sirena found herself in the bathtub, scrubbing herself from head to toe. Her mother toweled her hair energetically until it was almost completely dry, then brushed it for ten minutes before letting her get dressed in the beige dress that had been freshly washed and ironed the previous evening.

"Nervous?" asked her father, poking her in the ribs to make her laugh.

"Yeah, a little."

"Well, don't be. You'll be diving by ten o'clock, and maybe you'll be able to get us some oysters. The Peacekeepers want pearls today."

"Like that's easy to get," she said, with a giggle. She looked up at the sky, "Though I'm not really sure what kind of time fishermen are going to have today. The weather doesn't look too good."

"People will be fine as long as the Light still works."

Not living too far away from the Hall of Justice, the three of them were among the first people to arrive. Sirena signed in, wincing a little as a Peacekeeper pricked her finger to identify her. She was the first one of her age group to go stand in her section, and so found herself watching everything that was going on.

Nothing had really changed from the previous year, that she could see. A huge stage had been erected in front of the justice building with the sign 'District Four – Fishing' hanging above it, next to a giant seal of Panem.

It hit her suddenly. There _was_ a big difference: the glass reaping bowls weren't onstage the way they had always been. Her stomach began to churn. Anybody could be picked.

Ren arrived, giving her a quick hug.

"What are you looking so nervous about? You're not going to be picked. Everyone says that, for the girls, it's going to be this girl named Bertha Raftson from the next community over. She arrived last night, and she's huge… look, there she is."

Ren was nodding towards a girl who was indeed very muscular. She looked like she was at least twenty, but the Peacekeepers said nothing as they had her stand in the front row. The girl, whose square jaw made her look menacing, turned bored eyes over to the large screen that was being lowered so that everyone would be able to see what was going on.

The final warning whistle sounded. Sirena glanced around to see that the square was packed with people now. Children were crammed into every available space, with parents needing to be ushered to side streets because there were too many of them.

A woman stepped onto the stage, dressed entirely in blue, and with what appeared to be dozens of small starfish in her glittering white hair. Her name was Lucida, and she was the District Four representative.

Next came Mayor Roe and his wife, followed by Bay Cooper, the victor, who came out to thunderous applause. The mayor looked distinctively unwell that day. Normally, he was a smiling man with carefully parted hair and immaculate suits. But that day, he looked haggard.

"Whoever they picked to go," whispered Ren, "he's not happy about it."

"Doesn't look like it," Sirena whispered back.

Everyone quieted down. They Mayor had an envelope in his hand, which he handed to a Peacekeeper before going up to the microphone. He welcomed them to the reaping for the twenty-fifth Hunger Games, and began to read the Treaty of Treason, which was the piece of legislation that had been passed after the Dark Days, to bring the Hunger Games to Panem.

"I am delighted to welcome back our district representative, Lucida Cranston, who came here all the way from the Capitol to accompany our brave tributes to the Hunger Games." He nodded to her and stepped away from the microphone.

As Lucida stepped forward, so did the Peacekeeper holding the envelope, which he handed to her.

"So!" she trilled. "Is everyone ready? Are all of you excited? Let's see who District Four has picked to be the tributes for our very first Quarter Quell!"

She opened the envelope and looked at all of them.

"The lucky male tribute is…" she waited a heartbeat, "Marlin Preston!"

Sirena didn't have to look far. Marlin, a tall and burly boy with curly red hair who looked uncannily like Buddy, came forward. His freckled face looked pale, but he was composed. Evidently, he hadn't expected to be picked.

"I can see why he was chosen," said Ren. "He looks like he could win."

Sirena could only nod. Just one more name, and the ordeal would be over.

The wind picked up, and a light rain began to fall as Lucida quickly looked back down to the paper. "And the lucky female tribute is the girl with the lovely name of Sirena Wells!"

" _What_?" Ren sounded absolutely astounded. Stepping forward, she began to shout, "You picked _Sirena_ to go? What were you thinking?" She looked around, "How could you do that? What's the matter with you?"

Everyone who was in front of them turned around to look at them. Some of the girls looked surprised about the fact that Sirena's name had been called out. Others merely looked relieved.

Sirena hadn't moved a muscle.

Her name. Lucida had called out her name. Why? She was sixteen, not eighteen. In front of her were at least a dozen girls who looked better suited to go to the Hunger Games.

But the selectors had chosen her to go.

That was why her mother had been so tense the previous evening.

Peacekeepers were hurrying towards her. In a moment, they would reach her and drag her towards the stage. She couldn't let them do that.

Squeezing Ren's hand, she took a couple of steps, but Ren wouldn't let her go.

One of the Peacekeepers arrived, roughly yanking Sirena's hand away from Ren's and pushing her towards the stage. Faintly, she heard her mother screaming.

"Thank you, gentlemen, I can walk for myself," she said. Her voice trembled slightly, and when she glanced at the screen, she saw that dark circles of shock had formed under her eyes. She looked ill.

She felt as though she was in one of her nightmares where she was running to get away from someone, but her legs had been dipped in cement. Maybe she was never going to reach the stage. Maybe she was going to wake up in her bed and find that it had all been some horribly vivid nightmare.

"There you are, darling!" said Lucida, catching her hand as she put her foot on the stairs. "Well, aren't you just adorable?"

Sirena said nothing. She wouldn't have known _what_ to say, even if she had been capable of speaking. She was too stunned. They had chosen her to go to the Hunger Games. She was going to go into the arena, to live out the rest of her days like some animal while everyone in Panem watched.

She barely heard Lucida asking everyone to clap and congratulate the two of them. Barely felt it when Marlin shook her hand.

Betrayal, that was all she felt. She turned her eyes towards the selectors, hating them. The only reason they had chosen her was because they were jealous of her parents for having the lighthouse and not taking on more apprentices.

She and Marlin were ushered away from the crowd and into the Hall of Justice, where Peacekeepers led her to a lavishly furnished room, decorated in blue tones.

Each tribute was allocated an hour to say goodbye to their loved ones, in five-minute intervals. She had no idea what to tell her family when they came in.

Her mother was close to fainting, it was obvious from the way her father was holding her.

"I'm so sorry, baby, it's my fault."

"No, Daddy, it's not your fault at all," said Sirena quickly. "It's not. It's the selectors, it's the Capitol, but it's _not_ your fault." She went to them and helped her mother sit down, giving them both a long hug. It didn't seem adequate. Was she supposed to tell them that she loved them? "Listen, for the apprentice position… pick Ren, okay? For the lighthouse."

"Ren Terga?" her father seemed momentarily distracted by the suggestion.

"I know she's scattered, but she works hard, and she's a good kid. Please?"

He nodded, "Okay, honey. Whatever you want."

"And don't get rid of Jed and Buddy, no matter what the council tries to do."

"We won't," whispered Mrs. Wells. "Oh, my baby girl…"

"Mom, it's okay. I'm going to be okay. I love you, you know I love you." She hugged them again, "Listen, I have three pearls hidden in a small can at the bottom of my sock drawer. I was going to make us something for New Year's, but I guess I won't be doing that now. Use them. They're not much, but they'll be a little something."

Her father began to cry.

"Don't, Daddy, please. Everything's going to be all right. You're going to have to show the people who put me here that it doesn't bother you. When you go back outside that door, you'll have to act like everything's all right. You know you are. The same way I'm going to have to."

"My brave little girl," said Mr. Wells, pressing Sirena against him.

"I love you both."

"We love you too, Sirena. We love you too."

And just like that, the Peacekeepers took them out of the room. Sirena was alone. Her family was gone. She might as well be an orphan.

But she wasn't alone long.

A minute later, the door opened again, and Jed came in with Buddy. Both of them looked shattered.

"I will kill the selectors," said Buddy in a rage while Jed crushed her in his arms. "I really will."

"You can't. You'll end up in jail, and then what will my parents do? They're going to need the two of you, and you're going to need them. I asked my dad not to let either of you go as apprentices. You're too good for him and my mother. They really care about you, you know."

"We'll take care of them, we promise."

"Thank you. Thank you so much."

"Don't be scared, okay? Know that we'll be there watching you, and even when things go badly, we'll be holding your hand throughout the whole thing." Buddy hugged her.

"But try to come back to us. Please?"

"I'll try."

Ren was the next one to come to see her. She was so hysterical that it took Sirena over a minute to calm her down enough to talk to her.

"It's not fair!" she wailed. "You shouldn't have been chosen!"

"But I _was_ chosen to go. We know why they chose me, and it doesn't matter now. What matters is that tomorrow, you're going to go see my mother about the apprenticeship, all right?"

"Me? At the lighthouse?"

"You're going to need a job, and my mother will need an apprentice now that I'm gone. I told her to choose you instead of whomever the council will want to throw at her. We shouldn't let them win."

"But I have no idea what to do…"

"You will. My parents will train you, okay? Everything's going to be fine."

"You're my best friend! I don't know what I'm going to do without you!"

"Keep going on. And please, make sure my parents are okay. When it happens… when I'm killed, please make sure that they're all right."

"Okay, I will. I'm going to miss you!"

"I'll miss you too, Ren. You're like my sister. I'll miss having someone to talk to every day."

"You won't be able to write to me, will you?"

Sirena shook her head, "I don't think so. People aren't really supposed to know what goes on during the training sessions while they're going on. I think it influences the betting or something. Just… be careful."

"You too!" Ren gave her a bone-crushing hug, sobbing when the Peacekeepers wrenched her away.

Several more people came to see her: two of her teachers and a few of her classmates, who came in two groups of five. The last person who came to her was Mayor Roe. Sirena saw right away that he felt guilty.

"So, I suppose that you were the only one who was against my being chosen for this?" she asked him right away.

"I'm so sorry, Sirena. Your father's a good man, the council members are just…"

She shrugged, "It's done now, isn't it? Should I even bother to ask you to look after my family, or would that constitute favoritism?" Her voice was sarcastic. She had always thought that Mayor Roe was a pushover. She wondered how long he would manage to stay in office after this.

It was time to go. The Peacekeepers came to get Sirena before Mayor Roe had even left the room she was in. She thought she heard him wish her good luck, but couldn't be sure.

Nobody said anything during the ride to the station. She looked out the window, trying to catch a last glimpse of the lighthouse before it was completely taken from her. Would she ever see it again? Would she ever hug her parents again? Her friends? Chances were that she wouldn't. How could she? All she had to do was think of Marlin to know that all of the other districts would have picked the strongest people to go to the arena. She felt was the exception to the rule.

The station was filled with people waiting to wish her and Marlin good luck. Sirena saw her parents there, along with Jed, Buddy, and her other friends. She forced herself to smile and wave at them as she stepped onto the train. A moment later, all sound was cut off as the train door closed. They began to move immediately, and Sirena sat down in the nearest chair, feeling as though she were walking in a nightmare.

Marlin came to sit next to her, already chewing on one of the pastries that were available on a countertop.

"You really didn't expect to be chosen, did you?"

"Did you?" she countered.

"I had a feeling. One of my friends heard a rumor that I was going to be chosen." He shrugged, "I guess it makes sense to them because I'm strong, but I'm not good under pressure. I'm pretty sure I'm going to panic once the Games start."

She didn't say much to his statement, wondering how she herself would react once the countdown ended. She had watched the Hunger Games before, of course, like everyone else in Panem. She had seen how manic the people in the Capitol got when it came to the Games, how they dressed up in their favorite Tribute Parade costumes every year, and how heavily they betted on the tribute of their choice.

Since this was the first Quarter Quell, she figured that it would be much bigger than any normal Hunger Games.

And she wasn't wrong.

Their train arrived at the Capitol a little before lunch time, just as the reaping for District nine was getting ready to happen. The Capitol citizens at the train station shrieked with excitement when they both stepped onto the platform, screaming out their names and trying to touch them. Sirena found herself surrounded by multicolored people, and was thoroughly disconcerted by it.

"I don't understand," she said when they finally reached the Tribute Center, where they would be spending that first day before going to the Remake Center to get ready for the Tribute Parade the following evening. "Why do they act like that? Only one of us will be alive in three weeks."

"This is the highlight of everyone's year," said Lucida. "You must understand that, Sirena. People here love the Hunger Games almost more than their own children. They live for it."

They lived to see people die. No matter how often she heard that, it still sounded pretty gruesome to her.

 _And let the odds be ever in my favor_.


	3. Chapter 3

Sirena was the youngest tribute in the Quarter Quell. By the time the reaping for District Twelve had ended, she had seen that she was also the smallest one there. Even the tributes from the outlying districts looked more in shape than she was.

The male tribute from District Ten, especially, looked huge, at least onscreen. She could only imagine what he looked like up close.

She and Marlin were at the bar on the first floor of the Tribute Center, near the entrance, sipping soft drinks and chatting with the tributes from District One and District Two. Or rather, Marlin was chatting. Sirena, was only observing them and occasionally looking at the television.

The girls from District One and Two were both beautiful and intimidating. They could have been twins, because they looked so much alike. Gemma's hair was a lighter shade and slightly wavier, and her eyes were a bright blue, while Cybele's eyes were hazel. They had high cheekbones and perfect skin.

And they were strong. Sirena would have no chance if she were to face off against them. They had only given her a cursory glance before looking away, disinterested. They would probably allow her to stick with them for parts of the Games, but Sirena had a feeling that they would turn on her quickly.

Turning her attention to the boys, Royal and Magnus, she wondered how they had gotten the way they were. Royal was vaguely handsome, but looked absolutely brutal. As for Magnus, his skin was such a dark brown that it was almost the color of ebony. His eyes were a paler shade of brown, and had a spark of cold intelligence in them.

He wasn't saying much, observing the other four, just like she was. Suddenly, he looked at her, slowly gazing at her up and down. A smirk. "So, why are you here?"

"The council members who were on the selection committee are jealous of my family, and wanted me out of the way so that there would be an additional apprentice spot for them to give to their kids."

Royal turned to her, "Really? That's why they chose you?"

"I don't see another reason, really. I can think of half a dozen girls who would have been a much better choice than I was."

"I'm sorry," he said. "At least the rest of us were chosen because we could actually win this thing."

"Oh, I'm not saying I can't win. It's just that when even the tributes from District twelve are more imposing, it puts someone at a disadvantage." She took a small meat-filled pastry and began to eat it as the announcer on television said that the recaps of the reapings were going to be broadcast within the following hour.

"Well, you can stay with us, you know, for the first part of the Games. Maybe until we get to the final eight or something."

The final eight. Sirena had watched enough Hunger Games to know that it was a very rare thing indeed to see six people from the same group stay alive together long enough to make it to the top eight. Something always happened. Tributes turned on each other, there were illnesses, attacks… but she couldn't refuse their help, even for a short while.

"Our districts have been teaming up for the past few Games, haven't they?" asked Cybele.

Magnus gave a nod, "It worked out well for them last year. It definitely gives us more of a chance to survive. Is there anything you can do?"

"I'm pretty handy with a spear," she told him. "And I can gut fish really well."

"Gut fish," laughed Marlin. "So you can handle a knife as well."

Sirena smiled, "You could say that, yes." She pulled up the hem of her skirt, showing a three-inch scar she had on her calf, "I was diving one day about three years ago, when a barracuda attacked me. I had a knife on me, which was lucky, or my injury would have been a lot worse. Anyways, not much was left of the fish when I was done with it, but I had to get out of the area because sharks were coming in."

"Sharks?" asked Gemma, her eyes wide.

"Because of the blood."

"Wow. So you're strong for your size!"

"In the water, maybe. But we might get stuck in the desert, and I won't be much good to anybody there, at least not without a spear."

Royal laughed, "We'll find use for you, don't worry."

She was sure they would.

She went back to her floor along with Marlin, both of them still eating. She had been eating all day, and wondered whether she wasn't going to be sick with all that she was ingesting. But she had never seen so much food in her entire life. Food arriving, piping hot and delicious, at the press of a button! Creamy soups, thick and juicy sandwiches, pies and cakes, things she had never seen before, each dish tastier than the next…

"You're both acting as though you haven't had a decent meal in your lives," commented Lucida at dinner.

"My family and I eat every day, and my mother's a great cook, but we have to make do with what we have," said Sirena. "Most of the time, we have grilled fish and a few vegetables, based on what we can trade at the market."

"It's not like we've ever seen this kind of food before," added Marlin. He cut open a pastry filled with spinach and some kind of white cheese, "I don't even know what half of this is, but I love it."

Bay arrived, sitting down in front of Sirena. "Did you find your allies yet?"

"You mean the tributes from One and Two? Yeah, we found them. They seem okay."

"Just okay? Sirena, what did you think of them?"

"It's hard to tell. I mean, we only met them now. I'll be able to say more when we've seen them in training. But I think they're capable."

"And do they want you around?"

"For now they do," said Marlin. "Do you want us to stick with them?"

"Ordinarily, I would tell you to do that, because they're the strongest. But every tribute here, except for Sirena, is the strongest one in his or her district."

"So, what, you're telling me to run away from the Cornucopia the moment the countdown ends? I won't make it an hour if I'm by myself, I know that much."

"No, I'm telling you to be careful when you pick your allies. The last thing you want is for them to turn on you, and they will turn on you."

Sirena shrugged, "But that occurs all the time, not just with the kids from those two districts." She had seen it happen several times that she could remember. One year, they had all seen the way the two tributes from District One had hacked away at each other, while their allies from District Two had watched, stunned. Both of them had ended up dying from their wounds. The male tribute from District Three had won those Hunger Games.

Another year, a group comprised of kids from four different districts had imploded, most of them dying very quickly after that.

She didn't really want allies. But if she wanted to survive longer than few minutes in the arena, she didn't feel she had much of a choice.

"You're rooting for Marlin to make it through, right?" she asked Bay quietly.

"Sirena, I'm hoping either one of you will make it."

"But you think that Marlin's got more of a chance. It's okay, you can tell me."

"I think that nobody can say anything about the Hunger Games until they've actually started. Anything could happen. Did you see mine? I wasn't the favorite to win, and yet, I did. Had the Gamemakers not sent out that huge freak storm that killed off half the tributes, I wouldn't have made it."

Saying nothing more, Sirena got up from the table, going to the room that was now hers. Decorated in soft orange tones, it reminded her of the color of the sky as the sun set over the water. It was soothing.

She tried not to think about what would happen over the next few days. Tried to keep an image of the lighthouse in her mind. But visions of past Hunger Games crowded her as she fell asleep.

The next day found her in the Remake Center, with a prep team who apparently didn't care about whether or not she had taken a shower that morning, as they scoured her body with half a dozen different soaps, gels, creams, and brushes. She felt as though she had been rubbed raw by the time her stylist, Modius, came to examine her.

"Well, you're not bad-looking, at least," he said to her right off the bat. "You're slim, which is good, and the prep team did a good job on you."

She supposed he didn't care about such trivial things as introductions. "Was it necessary to wax my genitals?" she wondered.

"It makes it easier for me," he told her.

She couldn't help but feel uncomfortable about the way he was looking at her, but she didn't say anything when he looked at her skin more closely, never touching. He looked like the typical Capitol citizen, with unnaturally smooth skin that had been stretched over his face to get rid of any blemish or line he may have had. He wasn't wholly unpleasant to look at, but it was unnerving to see someone with such a sharp nose any with eyes that were so blue they could have been white.

"Well, I have your costume ready, and I think it'll look good on you. I did want to shave your hair for the headpiece, but Bay and Lucida screamed, so we'll do something else."

A little startled at the idea that he had wanted to shave off her hair, Sirena stood still as the prep team came back with a bodysuit covered in minute sparkling scales.

"Her hair will need to be silver," said Modius to the team, and they nodded, sitting her down in front of a sink and thoroughly washing her hair before applying dye to it. "It'll wash out in a couple of days, you don't need to worry."

Once the dye had been applied and her hair had been dried, the prep team began to apply makeup to her face. She was dusted with several silvery powders, not just her on face, but her hands and feet as well. She felt like some kind of giant fish, especially when they began to add some pieces to her exposed body parts.

When they were done, she looked at herself, but couldn't recognize the girl in the mirror. She was no longer just a girl.

She looked like a sea creature, risen from the deep, ready to devour anything in sight. The bodysuit glistened as though it had just come out of the water, and the extra pieces they had added to her face, hands, and feet, looked like bits of black and silver coral, elegantly fashioned so that resembled a sea goddess. Her skin, thanks to the powders her prep team had added, glistened the same way her bodysuit did. Her lips had been colored a dark mottled silver, and her eyes had been shaded in the same way.

"Wow…" she whispered as she saw herself. "Will Marlin be the same?"

"I worked with his stylist Palia to come up with these costumes, yes."

"This is amazing. Thank you!"

He smiled for the first time that day, "I'm happy that you like it. Good luck, Sirena, Child of the Deep."

Child of the Deep. She liked that. She walked out of the room she'd been in all day to join the other tributes as they began their final preparations for the Tribute Parade. Everyone stopped to stare at her when she came out. Lucida gave a squeal and ran to her, "Oh, you look even better than Marlin does! Look at yourself!"

"Do you like it?" she asked, suddenly shy. "I don't even think my parents will recognize me."

"I love it! You really look phenomenal!"

Bay was beaming at her, "Wow, he outdid himself this year. I have to say that you and Marlin have the best costumes out of every district."

Marlin was next to her. He also looked stunning in his own bodysuit, which was more masculine than hers. He had a single piece rising up from his neck, a twisted bit of coral, which was red instead of black and silver, and which rose up to just above his head. His hair had also been dyed silver.

"Fantastic," he said, although he sounded a little sarcastic. "We could be the coral twins."

"At least we don't look like crabs, like last year's tributes," said Sirena with a grin.

"You're right, I like this better."

They went to their chariot, which had been painted black and silver, with a touch of red. Sirena found it fitting that the horses pulling them were of two different colors: one silvery gray, and the other pure black.

"It's not that the other tributes look so bad," she commented, looking around. In fact, everyone, even District Twelve, looked good that year. Maybe it was because this was a Quarter Quell, or because the tributes were all strong and healthy, but there was something about them. But Lucida had been right, she and Marlin _did_ look the best.

Gemma and Royal wore outfits encrusted with rubies and amethysts. The two of them looked hot and uncomfortable, and as Sirena watched, Gemma fanned herself with both hands.

Cybele and Magnus had been outfitted to look like green marble statues. They also wore bodysuits, but nothing else, their faces shaded to make it seem as though they were coming out of the marble itself. But they looked fierce, as unmovable as the stone they had been made to resemble.

Sirena had no time to look closer at anybody. There was the sound of a warning siren, the same one that warned people in the districts that it was almost time for the reaping. For a split second, she saw every single tribute jump, suddenly scared, but everyone gained their composure right away as the anthem of Panem began.

Nothing she had ever watched on television had prepared Sirena for the feeling of being paraded in front of thousands of people screaming out in ecstasy over the Hunger Games. She felt incredibly shy all of a sudden, but the shrieks of the people as they saw her drowned out her shyness, replacing it with something else, something she couldn't quite define. Could it have been pride? She didn't know.

But everyone was screaming out her district's name. She and Marlin pumped their fists in the air, crying out like everyone else, and it worked, people noticed them. A lot.

Lucida was all smiles by the time the parade ended, and Bay was nodding enthusiastically, "I've noticed a few sponsors who seemed very interested in the two of you," he said.

"How can you tell?"

"They're high rollers, people who back certain tributes just to sponsor someone every year. I think they get a certificate or something from the Capitol for doing it. Anyway, every mentor knows who they are, and I saw two of them distinctly looking at you."

"So I guess we're starting off on the right fin," said Sirena, unable to suppress a giggle. She felt high, happy. She wanted to hold onto this sensation, wondering whether she was going to feel this way again.

"You're in a good mood," commented Marlin.

She just smiled, following Bay and Lucida back to the fourth floor of the Tribute Center.

Dinner that night was comprised of district delicacies, which in their case, was anything from the sea. There were huge shrimp fried in coconut fruit and a creamy orange sauce, juicy bits of white fish that melted in one's mouth, lobster tails dripping with butter, and a delicate crab risotto that simply ensnared Sirena's taste buds.

"I love eating like this," she said. "Things would be so much easier in the districts if everyone could have the same things available everywhere."

Bay and Marlin stared at her.

"Well, it's the truth. If everyone had more to eat, the citizens would be happier than they are now, wouldn't they? Isn't there anything anybody could do to ensure that would happen?"

"The thing is that not everybody needs the same thing," said Lucida quietly.

Bay extended his leg under the table and tapped Sirena's leg, an indication that she should keep quiet. But it infuriated her. Here they were in the Capitol, with so much food that more than half of it was going to be thrown away, when in the districts, some people starved on a regular basis. It was unfair. But by the look on Bay's face, she understood that she wasn't alone in thinking that.

Suddenly, she wasn't hungry anymore. Putting down her fork, she excused herself and went back to her room to get ready for bed. Training would begin the following day, and she wanted to get a good night's sleep beforehand, so as to be at her best.


	4. Chapter 4

She was definitely the smallest tribute for these Hunger Games. Now that they were all together in the training area, wearing identical clothes, it was easy to see that everyone was simply bigger than she was. The other tributes saw it, too. They were looking at her strangely, as though they couldn't wait to see her bleeding out on the arena floor.

There were several stations in the training center, and Sirena had immediately gone to the first-aid station, having a gut feeling that she would be needing the knowledge if and when things went badly for her during the Games. It wasn't too difficult, and after an hour, she moved on, deciding to try her hand at the archery station.

"Have you ever used a bow and arrow before?" wondered Gemma, watching her.

"Nope, but I thought I'd give it a try. I mean, it can't hurt, can it?"

"I guess not."

But it was obvious that archery wasn't her thing at all. She managed to hit the target only half the time, and none of those times were fatal hits. Whoever she would hit would be able to easily retaliate against her.

"Maybe you should try something else," suggested Marlin. "A sword, perhaps?"

"Knife-throwing," said Sirena quietly, nodding. She went to that station and picked up a few knives, towing them at the target in front of her. She was a better shot with the knives than she had been with arrows. Years of spearing fish in the water had strengthened her arm muscles, and she was satisfied to see that all six knives she threw stuck to the target, mostly hitting the belly area.

"Hmm, that's better," Royal told her. "You had me worried for a bit, I thought we were going to have to kill you right off."

"Don't count me out yet," she told him.

But she felt uneasy. Most of the tributes were sticking with their district partners, except for Marlin, who was hanging out with the ones from One and Two. She refused to be isolated, so she stayed close to them as well, trying to train with them as much as she could, although it was obvious that they thought she wasn't as good as they were.

"You said that you were good with a spear," Marlin told her the next evening, as they were sitting down to dinner. "Why haven't you showed us this before?"

"Because I'm planning on showing this to the Gamemakers tomorrow afternoon during my individual session." She cut into her steak and took a bite of it, chewing slowly, savoring it. "Isn't that what you said to me, Bay? That I shouldn't immediately show off my skills to everyone?"

"Maybe you should tomorrow, so that they don't think you're a complete waste of their time." He looked at her, "Ordinarily, your skills would be formidable, and you'd be able to hold your own against someone from the outlying districts. But this year, even they could be tough to beat. You're in trouble, Sirena, I'm sorry to have to say that."

Sirena only nodded. She knew he was right. To her fellow tributes, she was the weakest link. They probably figured she would be the first one to die. Once again, she felt betrayed by her district, by the people who were supposed to care for her because she had always been the kindest person she could to everyone she had ever met.

They only had half a day of training the following day. The rest of the day would be dedicated to the individual sessions, where the Gamemakers would evaluate each tribute. Sirena was determined not to be scared.

Just before lunch time was called, she ran to the spear station and grabbed half a dozen weapons. Choosing her targets carefully, she threw each of the spears using both her right and left hands. The spears all hit their marks exactly where she had wanted them to.

Standing up straight, she looked defiantly around, her gaze cool and detached. She saw the outlying tributes show fear for the first time. Marlin was grinning. The others nodded in approval.

"And she shows her true skills!" cried Magnus, clapping her on the shoulder. "That's what I'm talking about!"

"Oh, you're definitely in with us," said Gemma. "Isn't she, guys?"

They nodded, and together, they went to the cafeteria, enjoying a huge meal before the individual sessions began.

"Did you see the way that boy from Ten looked at her?" Cybele was asking Marlin, indicating Sirena. "He actually looked worried. That's good!"

"I can't believe you didn't show us that before," said Royal. "You should have."

"Why? Would you have taken me more seriously?" she wondered, chewing on a piece of bread. "I mean, everyone had written me off until this very moment, including the Gamemakers. Now they have to rethink everything."

She was right. By the time she walked back into the training center for her individual session, the Gamemakers were ready for her. They paid close attention as she wielded knives and spears, not once missing her throws. She finished by using a sword, not quite her strong suit, but a weapon she had practiced with, not exactly hacking a dummy to pieces, but severely damaging it.

Sneaking a look at them as she exited, she found that they looked reasonably impressed with her. She hoped that she would be able to get a decent score.

"Do the other tributes beside you six have any special skills?" asked Bay later on.

"The boy from Seven definitely knows how to use an axe," said Marlin, who was lounging on the couch, eating cookies.

Sirena had changed into a dress the color of the ocean on a clear day, and was in an armchair, reading over some of the notes she had taken every night, "The boy from Ten is someone we should worry about, I think. He's built like an ox. I don't know if he can use any weapons, but I wouldn't want to face him in hand-to-hand combat."

"I agree," said Marlin. "By the way, Sirena, you're going to be with us at the Cornucopia."

"With you?"

"The Careers."

She nodded, "Okay. Will you want me to kill?"

"If you can. I guess we'll talk about that tomorrow or something, if we can see the others."

The following day was a day off, the day before the interviews. They could do anything they wanted, except leave the Tribute Center. Most of the time, their mentors interviewed them to see which angle to present to all of Panem, as this would be the last time they would see them before the Games began.

"You could go swimming if you'd like," said Lucida. "Have you tried the pool at the training center yet? It's excellent."

"I like that. Maybe I will."

"I'll come with you," said Marlin. "Maybe we'll get the others to come along, that way we'll be able to talk about what we should do."

Do? Sirena wasn't sure what they really had to talk about. She must have looked confused, because he smiled.

"Which tributes we'll go after first, which ones we should just let go, stuff like that."

"Oh, that…" All of a sudden, she wasn't sure whether she'd be able to kill. Wielding weapons against fish was one thing, and she figured that if she had to defend herself, she'd be able to do that as well, or so she hoped. But to actively hunt down and kill a person?

She spent the rest of the evening thinking it over. What would it be like to throw her spear and to see it embedding itself in someone's body? Bay crouched down next to her, seemingly reading her thoughts.

"Don't worry about it so much. It'll happen naturally once the Games begin," he said.

"What, murdering kids?"

"No. Surviving."

"You killed two tributes during your Hunger Games." She had seen the footage the previous evening before going to bed. She didn't know why she'd watched it, but she had.

"There were only three of us left. I'd managed to survive for two weeks without killing anybody, and I realized that the only way for me to go home was to get rid of the other two. It wasn't easy, but in a way, it was."

"Kill or be killed," whispered Sirena.

"Exactly. You have to remember that you're already dead, so you have absolutely nothing to lose, and everything to gain."

"But I do have something to lose," she said. "Myself."

"The Hunger Games will change you forever. Whether you die in the bloodbath on the first day, or whether you're the victor, you've already changed. You're thinking about killing and strategy, which means that you haven't accepted that you're going to die."

She supposed she was right, she hadn't accepted it. She couldn't. It was evident by the way her spirits soared when she saw that the Gamemakers had given her a nine in her individual session, the same as Gemma and Cybele.

"You see? You must have impressed them to get that score!" said Bay, rubbing her back as she looked incredulously at the screen. Marlin, Magnus, and Royal had each gotten the score of ten, while most of the other tributes had gotten between a five and an eight.

"It's a good crop of tributes this year," commented Lucida. "And you thought you were the weakest, Sirena, but you're in the top ten tributes, so that's a good thing, isn't it?"

Sirena only nodded. Modius and Palia were there with them, along with their stylists, and together, they celebrated what they considered to be a small victory that evening.

"It's funny, isn't it?" said Marlin later on.

"What is?"

"The fact that they're celebrating, as though they had impressed the Gamemakers in the individual sessions."

"Well, our stylists were the ones to make us look noticeable. We owe them a lot."

"Sure. But they weren't with us in the training sessions. Now, you'll see, if either of us come out of this alive, they're going to take all the credit."

She didn't know what to say to that. But why shouldn't the stylists take some of the credit? They'd been the ones to put them out there, as memorable tributes that could be potentially sponsored. Their scores only enhanced that, so they could be sure that if they survived long enough to be on their own in the arena, they would have some people rooting for them, at least.

A few hours after the sun had risen, Sirena and Marlin were in the swimming pool, working hard. They had both already swam ten lengths when Royal and Magnus joined them.

"This is supposed to be our day off!" cried Magnus, laughing.

"We're from District Four," said Sirena, splashing water at him.

"Hey!"

"Anyways, swimming is like breathing for those of us who live by the sea."

"She's right," said Marlin. He pulled Royal into the water, "This is what we do for fun!"

Spluttering, Royal hung to the side, "My hair!" he cried in mock tones of outrage. "I swear I'm gonna get you in the arena!"

Marlin began to laugh, but Sirena felt a vague sense of unease. Was Royal serious?

Magnus joined them in the water, "The girls will come down later. I don't think they wanna get wet, you know?"

"That, and Gemma doesn't like the water," said Royal.

"She doesn't like the water?" wondered Marlin, "How's that possible?"

"I think it's a fear."

A fear of water. Sirena had heard of something like that, although she hadn't encountered it a lot in her district. She was so at home in the water that she couldn't imagine anybody being afraid of it. But it was useful information to have in time for the Hunger Games. Hating herself, she filed the information away in the back of her mind.

"I hope for her sake that we don't have a watery arena," said Marlin, obviously thinking the same thing Sirena was.

Royal shrugged, "Who knows? We could be in an ocean, like we could be in a burning desert or in a giant cave. But no matter what, I think that there will be water around, or these will be the shortest Hunger Games ever."

Sirena hoisted herself onto the edge of the pool, water pouring from her body. She was wearing a black and white bathing suit, which gave her the look of a trim orca whale. At that moment, the three boys realized that, despite her young age and her size, she was a contender in these Games.

"So," she said. "What's the plan?"

"The plan is to kill as many of the other tributes at the Cornucopia," said Magnus. "You think you can handle that?"

"As long as I have a spear in my hand, I think I'll be able to manage killing at least one of them," said Sirena, sounding a lot more confident than she felt. Inside, she was already quivering in fear.

"Good! That's what we want to hear. Once you get to the Cornucopia, we want you and the girls to guard the supplies and make sure nobody gets them. Kill as many of the others as you can, that way we won't have to work so hard afterwards."

"What if we don't have any food in the supplies that we get?" asked Marlin. "That happened one year, didn't it? Where the tributes only had water and weapons, but no food, so they had to make do with whatever there was in the arena?"

Sirena remembered that year. The Career tributes had been absolutely stunned to see that no food had been available to them. Most of them hadn't had a clue about how to forage for food, and most of them had died because they'd been weak from hunger. "I spent time at the edible plants station," she said. "And if there's no food, we'll find water so that we can fish. Don't worry, it shouldn't be a problem."

"Still make sure to eat a big breakfast, and drink a lot before the Games begin," said Royal.

That was easier said than done. Already, she felt nervous about what was going to happen. She knew that when the time came, she wouldn't be able to eat a thing, not until she was sure that she was going to survive the first day, at least.

"Are any of you scared?" she asked quietly. They wouldn't be able to say anything once the cameras began to roll.

"We get to represent our districts in a… what was it that they called it? A gallant competition. What's to be scared about?" Magnus sounded sarcastic, but resolved. "Anyways, if we want to get sponsors, we shouldn't worry about dying, but about how we're going to survive as long as we can."

How long _would_ they survive? That depended on a lot of factors: the supplies they got, whether they would be okay once they actually got into the arena, and the arena itself. She knew that she would do better in an aquatic environment, but it wouldn't work for Gemma at all. They could be thrown into a desert full of venomous snakes, or into a forest inhabited by giant spiders ready to catch them in monstrous webs. The possibilities were endless.

"Which tributes do you think we should get rid of first?"

It was Marlin who answered Royal's question, "Colt, from Ten, got as high a score as we did, and Sirena said that he was strong. I'd feel better if we could get rid of him right off the bat."

"It won't be easy. I've seen him at the wrestling station. He wouldn't even need a weapon, he could just snap someone's neck with a headlock or something." Magnus got out of the water, sitting next to Sirena.

"We'd have to team up just to bring him down," she said. "We'd risk letting other tributes get away with supplies."

"I dunno. I think we should just get whoever we can get, and worry about specifics later."

"Royal's right," said someone behind Sirena. It was Gemma, who was standing with Cybele. "We don't know how things are going to happen once the countdown ends."

"Won't it be like every other Hunger Games, though?" asked Cybele. She came closer to the pool, but Gemma hung back, sitting where she was. "You know, where everyone goes on a killing spree?"

"I guess you can't really get ready for something like this. I mean, we've trained in District Two, but we've never killed anybody." Magnus put his feet in the water again, "We'll just have to see. Just get to the Cornucopia as fast as you can, grab a weapon, and get to work."

"What happens if one of us dies there? It could happen, you know."

"We'll worry about that if the time comes. Honestly, if we start detailing everything now, we might end up more scattered than we are now."

And with that statement, they had to be content.

They spent the rest of the day with Bay and Lucida, getting ready for their interviews. They trained together, coming up with several distinct angles for them. In the end, they decided that Sirena would play the sweet girl next door. She wasn't to say anything about how betrayed she still felt that her district had sent her to the Hunger Games.

Marlin, for his part, had no trouble coming up with an angle. He would be the strong and silent type, only answering questions that were asked, and not elaborating on anything else. It was his style, being as, even though he had been open with Sirena and the others while discussing plans, he wasn't the kind of person to share himself with everyone in Panem.

The day of the interviews was dedicated to getting ready for that evening. As soon as Sirena had finished her breakfast, she was sent down to her prep team, who immediately drew her a scented bath filled with soothing oils.

"You need to be relaxed for your interview, or they'll all think that you're nervous about tomorrow!"

"You mean nervous about the fact that I might be dead in twenty-four hours? No, why would I be nervous about that?"

All three members of her prep team though she was hilarious. Severina, the youngest one, who had fire-red hair and green lips, giggled for a full minute before she was able to get herself under control again. Sirena nearly screamed at her.

"You know," she said, "there were girls in my district who were more qualified for these Hunger Games than me. I'm sure they would have made a lasting impression on you."

"Don't be silly. I'm sure that nobody could be as pretty as you, especially when you see the dress that Modius has made for you."

The dress, as it turned out, was a gorgeous piece of material that was the exact color of her eyes. It was absolutely beautiful, and shimmered the same way the ocean did when the sunlight hit it at an angle. Her hair was softly curled and left to hang down her back, only held up by two seashell combs.

"Gorgeous," said Modius when he was done. "Just look at you."

"Thanks, you guys," she said gently, looking at herself. She _did_ look good, better than she had during the parade, although that might have been because she could actually recognize herself in the mirror this time.

"Our little sea goddess," said Severina. "Good luck, Sirena. We won't see you until you come back from the arena, although you'll see Modius in the morning."

She hadn't been aware that she wouldn't be seeing her prep team again. Giving them each a hug, she thanked them again, "I'll try to make sure you enjoy watching us," she told them, because there really wasn't anything else she could say.

Modius escorted her to where the other tributes were when the time came. Everyone was dressed in the best clothes the stylists had been able to come up with, and for the most part, they suited them. Poppy, from District Eleven, was very pretty that evening, wearing a white and black dress with dozens of crimson-red poppies all over it. It was a fitting dress, and when she looked closely, Sirena noticed that everyone was wearing something that seemed to represent them innately.

Gemma's dress, for example, was encrusted with precious stones, although that might have simply been because she was from District One. And Granger, from District Nine, was wearing a tailored suit that was as golden as summer wheat.

"Looking good, Sirena," said Magnus, sliding over to her. His suit was a velvety slate gray. Coupled with a white shirt and tie, it almost made him look as if he were going to a fancy Capitol wedding rather than a Hunger Games interview. Then again, so did all of them.

"Thanks. You too."

"Yeah, well, I try." He winked at her before going to stand next to Cybele.

They were given the signal to get onstage. They did so walking in single file as the people in the crowd practically lost their minds, shrieking for their favorite tributes. Sirena heard her name called out a couple of times, and turned in the direction of the screamers, giving a small wave as she went.

Isaias Trust, the host of the program they were on, greeted each of them as they walked onto the huge lit stage. He wore a spring green suit that went well with his shiny bronze-colored hair.

The interviews each lasted for five minutes. Isaias was supposed to bring each tribute out of his or her shell and make them likeable to the audience. It was one last ways of them identifying with citizens of the Capitol before the Hunger Games took their lives away. Most of the tributes had no problem communicating, but some of them, such as Daria from District Six, and Lacey from District Eight, were incapable of saying much of anything. Elinor, from District Twelve, kept biting her nails because of how nervous she was.

But Sirena thought that her own interview had gone well. Isaias had mentioned that she was the youngest tribute in these Hunger Games, asking her how she felt about it.

"Well," she had said, her voice shy, "I don't think that age matters in this case. What's going to matter is how we react to the situations that come up in the arena."

"Oh, well-put!" he cried. "Are you scared at all?"

"Anybody who says at this point that they're not even a little bit scared are only lying to themselves. Of course I'm scared. I'm scared of never seeing my family and friends again. I wish I could see our lighthouse again before tomorrow."

"Your lighthouse? You have a lighthouse?"

"We live in one," she had said, proceeding to explain how much the light meant to the people in her district.

"So that means the people in your district must really love you if they sent you here!"

It had taken all of Sirena's willpower not to scream with laughter at that. She had said nothing, instead looking down at her hands, blinking rapidly to keep real tears from falling down her face.

Now, as she watched the last tribute, the boy from Twelve, stumble through his own interview, she wondered whether everyone felt the same thing. Most people didn't think it an honor to be going to the Hunger Games. To everyone, except for one tribute, it was a death sentence.

"Well, there you have it, everyone, the tributes for the first Quarter Quell, the twenty-fifth annual Hunger Games!" said Isaius, getting to his feet and inviting each tribute to do the same. They all took a bow, and the crowd clapped and cheered, beginning an eerie chant of 'Hunger Games!' that soon became a roar. They were still crying out when the tributes left the stage, the girls staggering a little in their high heels.

"Well, that was definitely an experience," said Sirena once she and Marlin were on the elevator with Bay and Lucida.

"You were wonderful, both of you!" gushed Lucida, dabbing a tear from the corner of her jeweled eye.

"Thank you," said Marlin. "So… this is our last night together, huh?"

"I'm afraid so. Next time we see each other, one of you won't be here."

"So there won't be a next time," Sirena told her. Her stomach was doing odd flips and spins, as though it had a mind of its own. Next to her, Marlin was looking straight ahead. He must have been scared too, but he wasn't saying anything about it. Who knew exactly what was going through his head?


	5. Chapter 5

After a night of dreams interspersed with old Hunger Games, where she saw herself dying in a hundred different ways, Sirena woke up. It was still dark outside, but the sun was just about to rise.

She got to her feet, stretching and deciding to take a shower. Why not? According to the clock, the Hunger Games weren't going to start for another four and a half hours. She knew that she should get some more sleep, but it was pointless. Modius would be coming to wake her up soon.

She took her time in the shower. For the next couple of weeks, who knew whether she would have the luxury to properly wash herself? She didn't even know whether she was going to survive the bloodbath at the Cornucopia.

What were her parents doing? Her friends? Were they awake, already watching the programs? There was a recap of the reapings and the interviews at that moment, she knew, because there was a screen in her shower and she was watching as she scrubbed herself gently with vanilla-scented soap.

It was ridiculous, really. She might be living the last hours of her life, and she was spending them that way. But what else could she do?

Finishing with her shower, Sirena quickly dried herself by using the electrical gadgets at her disposal. She walked back into her room and put on some blue shorts and a matching tank top, and then settled herself on her bed to wait, while drinking a glass of water.

Modius arrived fifteen minutes later, looking surprised to see her already dressed.

"Couldn't sleep?" he asked.

"You wouldn't be able to sleep either if you were in my position," she told him.

"I suppose that's true. Well, let's go then. You'll have breakfast on the hovercraft."

Her heart pounded, and she took one last look at the room she'd slept in for the past few days. She had a feeling that she would never see it again.

"We're getting to the arena by hovercraft?" she asked Modius.

"Of course." He called the elevator, and they stepped inside once it had arrived, getting off on the thirteenth floor.

"Where's the arena?"

"Oh, somewhere within Panem. It'll take anywhere from ten minutes to an hour to reach it." He gestured towards the waiting hovercraft, which was stationary in midair just above them, "Go on, I'll be right behind you."

Trying not to show that she was trembling, Sirena walked to the ladder that was dangling from the hovercraft. The moment she grabbed on, she froze, feeling as though a magnet were holding her to the cold metal. She was slowly pulled up and into the belly of the hovercraft, where a waiting Peacekeeper injected her with something.

"It's your tracker," he said once she was able to let go of the ladder. "So that we can keep tabs on you in the arena."

Modius joined her, and the moment the hatch closed behind him, they took off.

"Come on, breakfast is over there."

A buffet had been set up with enough food to feed an army. Pancakes, stacks of toast with jam and honey, muffins, doughnuts, bacon, sausages, ham, omelets, and mountains of fruits and little tarts. Next to the food were pitchers of water, at least three kinds of juice, cold white milk, tea, and coffee, along with hot chocolate.

She went for that first, taking a mug and pouring the hot brown liquid into it.

"If there's anything else that you want, we can get it for you. There's a kitchen on this hovercraft," said the Peacekeeper, who had injected her with her tracker. He was also eating his breakfast.

"I think this will be enough, thank you," said Sirena. She sipped her hot chocolate as she brought it to the table where Modius was sitting. She then grabbed herself some pancakes, sausages, and a bowl of fruit lathered in heavy cream and honey.

She ate slowly, not wanting to rush herself, and was surprised when she cleaned her plate. As she put her fork own and wiped her mouth, the windows of the hovercraft went dark.

"We're almost there," said Modius.

They landed five minutes later.

 _This is it_ , she said to herself getting to her feet.

No less than six Peacekeepers were waiting for her when she stepped off the hovercraft. She was sure that some tributes at this point had tried to run away in the past, although who knew where they would have gone, as they seemed to be underground.

Under the arena.

She was led to a plain white door that she knew led to the Launch Room, the last place she would see before she would be thrust into the arena itself.

Sirena stepped through the door, Modius right behind her.

The Launch Room was pretty much what she had expected. A sterile white room, with a low couch, a table with a plate of cheesy scrambled eggs with tiny bits of ham, which she loved to eat in the mornings, and a pitcher of orange juice with a crystal glass.

On a rack hung the clothes she would be wearing in the arena. Lightweight black pants that seemed molded to her legs, worn with black tactical boots and a white fitted shirt. The last item was a black and white jacket that came down past her hips, which had probably been intended to make it easy to see. Her district number had been stitched over her right shoulder.

"Are you still hungry?" asked Modius, having tied her hair into a high ponytail, securing it with pins.

She wasn't, really, but she sat down and began to eat a little, just in case, also drinking a full glass of juice before a disembodied voice warned that there were only five minutes left until the Hunger Games began.

Feeling slightly sick, she went to the adjoining bathroom to brush her teeth. Was she really supposed to kill people? How would she manage something like that? These were people she'd spoken to, seen, and interacted with. These were her fellow tributes.

 _There can only be one victor, Sirena._ _Try, and maybe you can be that victor_.

Assuming her temporary allies didn't turn on her the moment the countdown ended.

"One minute," said the voice.

"Good luck, Sirena," said Modius. "I really hope you make it through."

By the tone in his voice, Sirena guessed that he really didn't think she would last long. She refused to give him the satisfaction of seeing how petrified she was, and so smiled at him, giving him a hug, "Thanks, Modius! See you." Then, with a hop and a skip, as though she were going to the evening market with her mother, she stepped onto the launch plate that would push her into the Hunger Games.

A glass tube came down, separating her from safety. A second later, she felt herself rising. She took a deep breath, focusing her senses. She smelled greenery, and warm moist air, which engulfed her when she came out in the open.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the twenty-fifth annual Hunger Games," said another voice, one she knew from having watched the reapings, and other Hunger Games beforehand. It was Agrippa Vesta, who had been a commentator for the Games for the past ten years, and who knew more about them than anybody else in Panem, it seemed.

A low mist hung just above the ground. Sirena could see tufts of brilliantly green grass poking through it. The Cornucopia was directly in front of her, its bounty clear for all to see. She saw tent packs, weapons, and large bags closest to the mouth of the horn, with larger weapons glinting inside the Cornucopia itself. There were smaller bags further away from the horn, which most likely contained less valuable supplies.

It was done that way to guarantee a fight on the first day. Anybody smart, who didn't want to die right away, would run from the bloodbath, but would be stuck in an arena with absolutely nothing. Most people grabbed whatever was directly in front of them – better have a bag with little in it than have nothing at all. But the ones who had a chance of making it always tried to get to the weapons and the bigger packs.

Above the geometrical rust-colored horn, which was usually golden, was a large hologram with a countdown in bright numbers. Forty seconds.

Sirena tore her eyes away from it and glanced around. She was standing between Talon from District Seven, and Royal. Next to Talon was Viola, from District Five. She was shaking, but seemed confident. Sirena wondered what she looked like. Her heart was pounding out of her chest, and her mouth was dry. She kept licking her lips to try to wet them, but for all the good it did, she might as well have been using sandpaper.

An animal cried out in the distance, causing all of them to jump and look around. Even Royal looked nervous. The cry hadn't sounded like any animal Sirena had ever heard in her life.

They seemed to be surrounded by a lush forest, although _forest_ didn't quite seem to be an adequate word for what she was seeing. The trees had the thickest foliage Sirena had ever seen, draped with lianas, and their trunks covered in moss. There were ferns taller than any of them resting just at the edge of the clearing they seemed to be in, posted there like sentinels.

Sirena's head snapped back to the countdown, alarmed to see that there were only twenty seconds left. She looked around at the other tributes, trying to find Marlin, but he was probably on the other side of the Cornucopia. She could just only glimpse at Cybele if she leaned to her left.

Talon was on her right, and he was looking at her with a predatory leer. She knew immediately that as soon as the countdown ended, he was going to come for her. He meant to kill her right there and then. She glared at him.

Zero.

Sirena leapt off her plate. Everyone else was doing the same. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that nobody was running away. Everyone was grabbing things off the ground, or running straight for the giant horn.

She was halfway to the Cornucopia, just behind Royal, when she was knocked to the ground. Pain radiated from her left hand up and down her arm as she hit the mossy floor.

It was Talon, and he was laughing.

"No you don't," he whispered. "You're too young to win this game." He turned her around and slapped her hard across the face, and prepared to punch her. But she had spent many days on the beach wrestling with Jed and Buddy, and some of the moves she'd learned with them came back to her. She threw her weight against him, freeing her arm, and driving her index finger directly into one of Talon's eyes.

He screamed, especially when she did the same thing to his other eye before wriggling away from him and getting to her feet. She kicked him in the face, hearing something break. Blood spurted from his nose and mouth.

She ran the rest of her way to the Cornucopia, seeing Royal fighting against Daria, from District Eight. She had somehow gotten a weapon, and seemed to be holding her own.

A long knife sat on a crate just inside the mouth of the horn. Sirena barely noticed that its blade was black and serrated close to the textured handle before she grabbed it, racing back to where Talon was.

He was just getting to his feet, mopping blood from his face with his sleeve. His eyes were already beginning to swell shut, and judging by how much force Sirena had used, she didn't think he could see much at all.

A base primal instinct to survive dictated her movements. Talon must have been able to see _something_ , because he put up his hands. Sirena slashed at them. Blood flew in an arc, splattering her jacket.

"No!" he screamed. "I don't wanna die! I don't wanna die!"

"Should have thought about that before attacking me," she said in a low voice. She slashed a second time, getting Talon's arms this time. He screamed again, in tandem with someone else.

Sirena didn't want to toy with him. She had a feeling that anybody watching her, and she was certain that people were watching her every movement, including her parents, wanted to see whether she could kill him. She was being judged.

With a cry, swung her long knife at Talon's neck, her eyes widening when it connected, severing an artery. He fell immediately, blood gushing from the fatal wound.

White shock descended over her. For a second, she thought she was going to bring up her breakfast, and struggled to keep her stomach from turning itself inside out. If she vomited now, she'd be branded as weak, even though she had just killed someone.

She had killed someone.

She turned away from Talon, who now lay motionless, half-concealed by the mist that was creeping over him. Raising her eyes towards the horn, she noticed that Daria was lying dead as well. Royal was now struggling with Xander from Eight.

Running towards the pair, her long knife raised, she got there in time to catch Xander's side with her blade as Royal gave him a tremendous push.

"Take the bag back to the Cornucopia," said Royal. Only then did Sirena notice that Xander had grabbed a tent pack from the horn, and had been running away when Royal had caught up to him.

She nodded and picked up the tent pack. Xander was moaning and trying to back away. She didn't see him die.

Nobody else was at the horn. Several weapons were missing, as well as some of the packs, but most of the bounty was still there, from what she could tell.

Cybele wandered over, looking a little shocked. She had a long bleeding scratch on her face, but otherwise looked all right. Gemma trailed behind her, her hair in complete disarray, carrying a long axe. Bending down, she picked up a small pack and absently tied it around her waist.

"Are you all right?" Sirena asked them.

They jumped at the question, but nodded.

"I guess we'd better start looking through all this stuff," said Cybele.

"Guess so."

None of them let go of their various weapons as they started sifting through bags and containers to see what was available to them.

There were enough tent packs for the six of them, and then some. Bags of bread and dried meat. Packs of dried fruit and crackers. A crate with protein bars and nuts. First aid kits containing everything from hypodermic needles to simple bandages. They even had additional clothes in several sizes.

The amount of weapons available was unimaginable. Spears, swords in every shape and size, axes, maces, knives, hammers…

"Anything good?" asked Marlin, walking in.

Sirena jumped out of her skin and raised her weapon before she'd even thought about it.

"Easy," he said with a laugh. "It's just me." He clapped her on the shoulder, "Magnus said you killed the guy from Seven. Good job."

"Helped me take out Xander too," came Royal's voice. "Everyone's gone."

"Looks like we still have a lot of stuff," said Magnus, also walking in, grabbing a spear, "I'll keep watch while you guys take inventory. Gemma, come with me."

She obeyed without a word, grabbing a second sword from the wall.

"There's a lot of dry food here," said Sirena. "But nothing fresh, except for the bread."

"We have no fresh fruit?"

Sirena shook her head, "No fresh fruit, vegetables, or meat. I didn't find any water either, although this pack has purifying tablets and iodine. Cybele, did you find anything to drink?"

"I didn't see anything, but I haven't checked everywhere yet."

The canons began to sound, seven of them in all. Trying not to think about the fact that they were going to have to hunt the rest of the tributes down, they looked through each bag and container in the Cornucopia.

After several minutes, however, they had to resign themselves to the fact that there was nothing for them to drink. They didn't even have cans of fruit with juice in them. Nothing.

"That settles it, then," said Magnus. "We won't be able to stay here unless there's water nearby."

"There has to be water nearby," said Sirena.

"Yeah, that's what we're hoping, but –."

Sirena shook her head, "No, no, I mean there _has_ to be. Look at how moist it is here. And we have water containers, so it's for a reason. The arena wouldn't be this lush without water. And whatever animal we heard cry out earlier has to have water from somewhere."

"So we need to go look for it."

"But how?" asked Gemma. "We can't carry all of this around."

"Of course we're not going to carry all of this around, what do you think?" Royal rolled his eyes, "Cybele can go with Sirena and Marlin, and the rest of us will stay here to guard the supplies."

"You want us to split up?" asked Cybele.

"It's the best thing to do right now. We can't all go and leave all of this unprotected. Who knows who can come back and take everything? We'll see what we can use, and destroy whatever's left so that nobody can grab it."

"You'll also need to clear the area for a bit," said Marlin.

"Whatever for?"

"The hovercrafts have to get the bodies."

"They are already are, look," Gemma pointed to the body nearest to the launching plates, Talon's, and they all saw that a metal claw had come from the sky to lift him towards the waiting hovercraft.

Sirena and Marlin lifted a couple of tent packs onto their shoulders, having added some empty bottles to them so that they could fill them. Cybele picked up a simple backpack along with several more empty bottles and a sword.

"Are you guys taking more weapons?" asked Cybele.

"Oh, yeah." Sirena grabbed a sheath, put her long knife in it, and secured the sheath to her belt before taking one of the spears in her hand while Marlin grabbed a few throwing knives of his own.

"Let's go," he said.

They began to walk away from the Cornucopia, keeping an eye out for where they were going exactly. At one of the trees, Sirena took her knife and made a mark in the moss-encrusted bark, "There are so many trees that I'm afraid we'll lose our way if we're not careful," she explained while the others looked at her.

"We could always climb a tree to find our way, couldn't we?" asked Marlin.

"I suppose we could, yes."

They walked for a few minutes, listening intently for the sound of water.

"Maybe we _should_ climb," said Cybele. "The forest is pretty thick. Maybe we'll be able to spot water not far away?"

"You're the smallest one, Sirena. I think you'll be the best one to climb."

Sirena looked at Marlin, not fully sure about it, but she shrugged, unshouldering her bag. She wasn't wholly confident climbing trees, nor did she want to leave any of her things with people who could turn on her, but she had no choice in the matter.

She handed Marlin her spear and started to climb the tree, using the lianas for additional leverage. It wasn't a difficult climb, and soon, she was twenty feet in the air.

Unfortunately, as Cybele had said, the forest was indeed very thick, and it was difficult for her to see much of anything in any direction, except for the Cornucopia. Her tree, however, was a little taller than the ones immediately around her.

She stared.

"Can you see anything?" called Marlin to her.

"I…" Sirena wasn't sure how to describe what she was seeing. She'd seen the picture of a similar animal in old science books, but she wasn't sure… "You guys had better come up here."

They did, quickly.

"What is it?" asked Cybele.

Sirena turned her head in the direction of the animal, and Cybele's jaw dropped. Behind them, Marlin was oddly still.

They were looking at an animal with a neck so tall that it towered above the trees. Even from where they were, they could clearly see what it was.

A dinosaur.


End file.
